Japan to support Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy development: Edano

Even the oil rich Gulf is diversifying the energy sources beyond fossil fuels, both for business diversification and as a result of real need.

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano said Wednesday Japan will increase its support for Saudi Arabia’s development of renewable energy.

He made the remark after holding talks with visiting Saudi Arabian Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and president of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, Hashim Abdullah Yamani, at a Tokyo hotel.

Referring to Saudi Arabia’s call for enhanced cooperation in the field of renewable energy, Edano told reporters, “We intend to deal with it proactively.”

Yamani told Edano in Tokyo that developing renewable energy in Saudi Arabia as well as developing power-saving technologies would help preserve the country’s oil and lead to the stability of oil prices, which would be a plus for oil-consuming countries such as Japan, a Japanese official said.

K.A.CARE is a Saudi Arabian government-affiliated body tasked with realizing a balanced energy mix by tapping into alternative energy to oil, such as atomic and solar power.

Al-Rabiah said in a separate meeting with Edano that his country is hoping that Japanese companies make more investments in Saudi Arabia, noting that there are big investment projects also in sectors other than the oil sector, the official said.

Edano met with Al-Rabiah and Yamani on the sidelines of the Japanese, Saudi Business Opportunities Forum in Tokyo, which business and political officials from the two countries attended. The two-day forum which started Wednesday is expected to draw a total of about 800 attendees.  Continue reading more…